6/11/2000, Tony Leung's Private Party was held last night at a
restaurant bar nearby Jet Tone Production(WKW's film company). More than a
hundred celebrities and friends were there to congratulate the Best Actor
of Cannes 2000. HK paparazzi had a field day last night. Among the
celebrities who attended the party, they caught the red hot shots of Faye
Wong and Nicholas Tse holding hands, Stephen Chow ducking in, beauties
such as, Go Li and Rosamund Kwan wearing transparent night-gowns. The
party lasted till 1PM.
5/31/2000, Tony kept himself busy with interviews, luncheons, and
receptions eversince he came back from Cannes. A HK Theater planned a mini
Tony Leung film-fest, showcasing "Happy Together", "Flowers
in Shanghai", "A City of Sadness" between June 3-6th. (I
read on the paper saying the admission is free, Free? There is such thing
in this world? Well, I have to contain my sarcasm for now.) During the
press interview, Asked which movie he enjoys the most, Tony blunts out the
words of wisdom , " I have to say the latest (ie. In the mood for
love). I didn't pick these movies. Very few people understood the meaning
of these three films. I know what I am doing in the film, but I fear
nobody else would." (Ha!)
Asked when 2046 will resume shooting, Tony said he will start working
on HUP GWUT YUN SUM (HEROIC BONE KIND HEART) first then 2046 follows. Amid
all the questions, the funniest was perhaps this, "WKW's films always
took so long to make, should we expect to see 2046 until the year of
2046?" Tony definitely hopes that's not the case. 2046 is set for
location shots in Korea and Japan.
5/28/2000, After winning Cannes' award, Tony is bombarded with requests
of dinner and celebration parties. To avoid an over-exhaustion, Carina
plans to ask all of their friends to come at once. But looking at a 4 page
long guest-list, Tony had a migraine attack. During the last Golden Horse
Award party Carina planned for him, Tony disappeared for more than one
hour. So this time, Tony makes sure he is being heard loud and clear,
"Expect me to be disappeared for the most of the night." At
Cannes, Tony went to a series of post-award parties, he stayed about 5
minutes then left. Carina had hoped he stayed longer, she enjoys parties,
but that's just not Tony. He simply could not bear it any longer.
Stephen Chow was one of the first friends to congratulate him. They
were born on the same year and month, and they had known each other for
years. Many people consider Tony being the luckier one, but Tony thinks
everyone has a different fate in life. Stephen Chow has his share of fame
and fortune.
During a radio interview, Tony denied all the rumors of Carina and
Sherman. He said he totally trusts her and all of the gossips are just
ridiculous. Yada, yada... (If you look at his answers from previous
interviews, it's pretty much similar in style. Though I don't doubt the
truth behind his words, I do have a question for Tony. Doesn't he care?
This is not your flying-out of nowhere stories. All of the stories have
pictures backing them up. I am the one who tends to believe pictures worth
more than the words. If Carina keeps her high-flying party life, then I
guess we will be subjected to the same rumors day after day. Personally, I
do wish, and pray that I don't have to read and translate these kind of
news any more. I am so sick of it. I often doubt if this is worth my time
to translate. My time could be invested more wisely than this. About a
year ago, I got so fed up with rumors, I thought of close down the site
for good. I am afraid to say I am reaching to that point again.)
5/23/2000, Tony came back HK yesterday. As soon as he was out of the
gate, he was swamped by cameramen. Several Bodyguards were assigned to
rescue him. He finally made it to the press room in one piece. Tony's
Mother was the surprise guest greeted him in the press room. She handed
him flowers then left. They plan to have a dinner later at night. Nearly a
hundred press were smashed inside of the press room. Flashbulbs went on
and off for minutes before the interview started. Tony had to stand on a
stool to make himself visible for the press in the backrow. Tony was calm
and coorperate during the whole time.
Asked if he is happy(what a dumb question), he said, "I wanted
this for four years. It's a real disappointment when I was one vote short
for Happy Together, then Flowers In Shanghai was another dismal
experience. And now finally this, it's a dream coming true, having your
talent being recognized by the international film critics." Rumor had
him drunk after the night of celebration, he quickly denied,"I had to
do 60 interviews in three days. It's simply too tiring to drink." He
said he went to sleep early each day. (Well, if he wants to get drunk,
this is the perfect time. Have a Toast! But I doubt if he needs alcohol,
he would be perfectly happy staying up somber reliving the exciting
moments of crowning. If you look at his pictures after the award, his face
is almost numbed. Maybe a few more days in HK will descend him back to the
earth. Heehee...)
More immediate plans.... Will he take a salary hike now? No, he plans
to finish all of his film commitments which have been already filled up to
the year 2002. He also wants to take a shot at producing and learning more
on the backend process of the filming. (Good Luck, Tony. Very Few Actors
have made the transition from acting to directing, or producing. What
comes down to, is that you really can't have the best of the both worlds.
But, why not give a try, just don't be stupid, and invest a lot of your
hard-earned money on it. Be sure you still have some tears left to go
around when it's all finished.)
Marriage plans maybe? "No," Tony said, "I will be very
busy, and there is no time to think about it." Oscar maybe? "No,
that's a little far to think about for now." (Jesus, by the questions
the HK press are throwing at him, you would be wondering if they are going
to say, the next president of China? the first man to travel to Mar? the
man who conquer the universe? Please, the man just won a great prize,
leave him alone. Let him basking the glow for a while. If there is time
for another achievement in Tony's career, so be it. Stop the preposterous
questions. But can't blame those people, they got a paper to fill.)
Maggie Congratulates Tony.
5/22/2000, View Tony's
Winning Speech Online (Require Real Player). Courtesy of TVB.
Also, click on the ForeignTV
Coverage of Cannes - News From The Festival 5/22/00, it had a quick
recap on the Award Ceremoney. You can catch a glimpse of Tony walking down
the red carpet and posing for pictures. Plus some footage of In The Mood
For Love.
5/22/2000, "Thank you Juries, Thanks you WKW, and Everyone who
watched the movie, I feel like In the Mood to Shout." These are the
words when Tony stepped on the podium accepting the Best Actor Award. (I
did a translation from Chinese to English. If anyone have seen the award,
and remembered his exact word, please do correct me) Italian Actress
Monica Bulucci handed out the award. When Tony stepped down, Carina was
first to greet him. She immediately asked, "Are you still
conscious?" (Tony had an episode of memory relapse last time he won
the Golden Horse Award in 1994. Later he could only remember flashbacks of
the experience.) Tony gave her a sounded YES and hugged her. Both WKW and
Maggie Cheung were absent, did Tony show up because he knew he had win?
"No," he replied. After a night of celebrations, Tony will
return to HK and hold a Press Conference in HK Airport.
More on IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, Tony watched the film twice since he
arrived to Cannes. His favorite scene is the final sequence where he
follows the tradition of whispering the guilty secret of his vengeful
motive for the affair into a hole in the wall. The scene carries depth and
the angle of the entire movie. "Love" back in the 60's, is
discrete and secretive. The two lovers never need to say 'I Love You', but
the feeling is strong and mutual. There is a whole new level of
comprehension on what Love really means. And that's exactly why WKW cut
all the love-making scenes of Tony and Maggie from his final version. (Oh,
Poor Sap, All the intimacy showed on the posters were just flakes. WKW is
never predictable.)
5/21/2000, Tony won the best actor award in Cannes. The award is
definitely long overdue. Besides taking home the best actor award, IN THE
MOOD FOR LOVE also won the Technical Prize for cinematography and editing.
Other notable winners: Von Trier, Bjork Won Golden Palm with Dancer in the
Dark. The runner-up Grand Prize went to Chinese director Jiang Wen's
Devils on the Doorstep. Bjork scooped up the Best Actress award for her
acting debut in Dancer in the Dark. Edward Yang from Taiwan won the Best
Director award for A One and a Two.
You know, I had a hunch this is Tony's year. Read my thoughts down
below. Well, WKW certainly kept his side of bargain. In 1997, when Tony
went one vote short on the Best Actor Award, WKW made a promise to Tony.
So here it comes, their very next film, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, made Tony
the grand winner. Certainly all these months in Thailand paid off for
Tony. I am very happy for him not only because I am one of his fans, but I
know how much he'd wanted and hoped for this. He certainly deserved it.
Like I said above, it's a long overdue, he should win it years ago. Just
about every other year, he's got a film competiting in a major
international film festival. A City of Sadness in 89, ChungKing Express in
94, Cyclo in 95, Happy Together in 97, Flowers in Shanghai in 98, and now
finally In the mood for Love. He has come a long way from disappointment
and trying years. I couldn't think a better way to cap off years of
dedication and frustration.
5/20/2000, Go to Cannes official Page and click on May 20th Live Video,
you will be able to see In the Mood for Love Live
Video from Cannes. According to the paper I just read, everybody who
watched the film thought it was quite a success.
Quote from the Official Cannes Website. "Atypical artist at the
heart of the Hong Kong film industry, Wong Kar Wai has made a name for
himself as one of the most original Asian directors. After taking home in
1997 the Golden Palm for 'Happy Together' Kar Wai returns to official
competition this year with 'In the Mood for Love' The year is 1962, the
city is Hong Kong. Chow and his wife move into a new flat. He becomes
friends with his neighbour’s wife, the young and beautiful Li-Zhen, also
a recent move-in with her husband. Their respective spouses often absent,
Chow and Li-Zhen take advantage of the time. For this venture, director
Kar Wai once again calls upon the talents of actor Tony Leung, and actress
Maggie Cheung, frequent faces in his films."
5/19/2000, Tony, Carina, William Chan and WKW all arrived in France
today. In the Mood for Love will be shown on May 20th, the last day of the
competition. Since films showed on the last day of the competition tends
to be the grand prize winner, it's natural for reporters to ask WKW if he
is confident winning the big prize. WKW said it's only because the
post-production of the film took so long to wrap up and that's why it's
been postponed till the last day.
As for which poster he will use for Cannes (See Below), WKW intends to
use both. In the Mood for Love had been sold to an American film
distributor for a record amount of 1.2 Million Dollars. It has received
rave reviews among the film distributors in Europe. WKW plans to release
the film in HK around Sept.
Carina accompanied Tony to Cannes. She's wearing a low-cut V-neck,
quickly become the spotlight for the cameras. Contrary to Carina, Tony
looks skinny and dark-complexed. Tony was in Thailand the past month.
Thailand is well-known for its sizzling temperature, and low humidity.
Tony said it felt like stuck in saunas all day. Is it where he got the
tan? No, he said it's from the recent surfing trips.
Maggie was been quoted in an interview saying she thought "In the
mood for love" took too long to make. In the mood for Love started
filming since Last Feburary. Asked Tony, he said it's the longest time he
had spent filming any movie. He can totally understand Maggie's point of
view, but a director has to do what's the best for the film. If it takes a
year and a half to finish a film, so be it. (WKW must be standing
dangerously close to him when he said those words. Heehee... Oh, Dear
Lord! But it's smart for him to say that. Think it this way, the time has
already been spent, why not make a good face, and claim how much you
appreciate it.)
Any hopes for winning the best actor award? The award slipped by him
three years ago when he was one vote short (Happy Together, 1997). Tony
replied he had yet to see the other films in competition to make judgement
call. Only a handful of films make it to Cannes, and much less will be
participating in the competition. That alone, is quite an accomplishment.
(Oh, How modest and unassuming. Your typical pet talk before the big
night, my friend. But if Tony is going to win some big prize, it's either
now or never. It's about Payback time. Yes?)